Mike Hanagan, a Potomac Hunt whipper-in and foxhunting enthusiast, died at 58 years old due to complications from Parkinson's disease. He developed a passion for foxhunting after joining the Potomac Hunt in 1988. He whipped-in for almost 20 years and loved watching the hounds work. He was remembered for his caring character and for being a hard worker. Prince Panache, Karen O'Connor's four-star eventing partner, was euthanized at 32 years old due to complications from old age. With O'Connor, he placed at top international competitions like the Olympics, World Equestrian Games, and Rolex Kentucky. He was remembered as a brave and courageous cross

1. 98 The Chronicle of the Horse
Mike Hanagan
Potomac Hunt whipper-in
and foxhunting enthusiast
Mike Hanagan died at home in
Dickerson, Md., on April 4 due to
complications from Parkinson’s
disease. He was 58.
Mr. Hanagan was
born on Jan. 22, 1958,
in Washington, D.C.,
to John and Carol
Krause Hanagan. He
served in the U.S.
Marine Corps for six
years and then worked
as a heavy equipment
mechanic. He married Nellie
Carpenter in 1985.
Mr. Hanagan’s fondness for
horses and livestock began at a
young age on visits to his grandpar-
ents’ dairy farm in Pennsylvania.
“He used to get on the plow
horses and do bad things,” joked
his wife.
A professional horsewoman,
Nellie helped Mr. Hanagan develop
his riding skills aboard her horses
in the early years of their marriage.
“I pretty much gave him riding
lessons and taught him how to
truly ride,” Nellie recalled. She also
taught him horsemanship out of the
saddle by including him in the day-
to-day care of the horses.
The Hanagans joined the
Potomac Hunt (Md.) in 1988, and
Mr. Hanagan’s childhood hobby of
hunting rabbits and groundhogs
was rekindled and transformed
into a passion for foxhunting. He
whipped in for almost 20 years
and served on the Potomac Hunt
Committee for four years.
“He only rode to hunt,” Nellie
said. “He loved to watch the hounds
work—watching the hounds figure
out where a fox was and helping
the hounds stay on a fox. In the
summer when he wasn’t hunting,
he would help clean the kennels.
When he became unable to ride, he
would go hang out at the kennels
and be with the hounds.”
Mr. Hanagan also loved his Shire-
Percheron cross, Speedy. Nellie
bred the 18-hand horse specifi-
cally for Mr. Hanagan.
She broke him, and Mr.
Hanagan took over the
ride when the horse
was 4.
“He was a big,
beautiful, wonderful
horse that took to
hunting,” Nellie said.
“Our kids at 5 and 6
years old could ride him,
and yet he could gallop with the
best of the Thoroughbreds. Mike
just loved him.”
Unfortunately, Speedy died at
the age of 8, due to colic complica-
tions. “He was always searching for
another Speedy,” said Nellie.
Mr. Hanagan’s final mount, Huey,
was also an exceptional horse
because the draft cross took care of
him when he was having a difficult
time riding.
The Potomac Hunt members will
remember Mr. Hanagan for his
caring and kind character.
“He was very opinionated and
stubborn. He was a hard worker.
He was a good guy,” Nellie noted.
Mr. Hanagan is survived by his
wife, Nellie of Dickerson, Md.;
his children, Lela of Martinsburg,
W.Va., Catherine of Dickerson and
Melissa of Hagerstown, Md.; his
mother, Carol of Germantown,
Md.; and his siblings, Pat of
Damascus, Md., Jimmy of Orange,
Va., Tony of Germantown, Chipper
of Germantown, and Jacquelyn
of Silver Springs, Md. He also
leaves behind one grandchild and
numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorial
donations may be made to support
the Movement Disorders Clinic at
Medstar Georgetown University
Hospital Office of Philanthropy
Hospital Administration, 1
Main 3800 Reservoir Road NW,
Washington, DC 20007.
Prince Panache
Karen O’Connor’s four-star partner
Prince Panache was euthanized on
May 1 due to complications from old
age. He was 32.
Owned by O’Connor’s longtime
supporter Jacqueline Mars, the
bay English Thoroughbred gelding
(Nickel King—Scotch Pancake,
Scottish Venture) was a fixture at
the highest levels of the sport for
most of his career.
Susie Pragnell connected
O’Connor with the gelding after
he placed second in the Windsor
CCI** in England in 1993 with John
Mears. After jumping him over one
fence, O’Connor said she knew he
was special.
The pair placed fifth at the
Burghley CCI**** (England) in
1994, completed the Rolex Kentucky
CCI*** in 1996 and finished fifth at
the Badminton CCI**** in 1998.
They were members of the
third-placed U.S. team at the 1998
FEI World Equestrian Games in
Rome, as well as the bronze-medal
winning team at the 2000 Olympics
in Sydney.
O’Connor and “Nash” won the
Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in 1999 and
were third in 2000.
Nash was diagnosed with a heart
murmur, but he competed safely
and comfortably with medication.
“I always said he may have a
bad heart, but anybody who knew
Prince Panache knew he had a
huge heart,” said O’Connor. “There
wasn’t anything wrong with his
heart.”
She remembered him as a fierce
cross-country partner and a loving
horse on the ground.
OBIT
UARIES
GONEAWAY

2. May 16 & 23, 2016 • chronofhorse.com 99
“He was a lion: very genuine, 100
percent brave and courageous,” she
said. “He had a beautiful gallop and
never, ever got tired, no matter how
hard the course was or how wet it
was.”
Nash won his last CCI competi-
tion, the three-star at Foxhall (Ga.)
in 2001, and then retired in 2002.
He enjoyed his golden years at
Mars’ Stonehall Farm in The Plains,
Va., where he was turned out as
part of “the Fab Four”—O’Connor’s
Biko, and her husband David’s
Custom Made and Giltedge.
“They all were great by them-
selves, but collectively those horses
were a power to be reckoned with,”
said Karen.
Nash was honored with an offi-
cial retirement ceremony at Rolex
Kentucky in 2003, where Jimmy
Wofford gave a speech.
Karen once told him Nash was
the bravest cross-country horse
she’d ever ridden.
“I thought that too, as I watched
him during the early part of the
course [at the Sydney Olympic
Games], but what really struck me
at that moment was the uncanny
intelligence Nash brought to every
situation,” Wofford said. “By
the time he jumped, you had the
feeling that he had walked each
fence beforehand. So they galloped
up into view, into a golden glow,
into the history books, and into
our hearts. And I thought at that
moment that I had been given an
insight into one of the most remark-
able horses I have ever seen.”
Karen was able to visit Nash the
week before Rolex Kentucky this
year. She’d planned to euthanize
him the Monday after the event, but
farm manager and long time groom
Sue Clarke called her over the
weekend to say it was time.
“I’m sad today, but I think it’s so
remarkable—in the end he was a
horse that did a lot for the U.S.,”
said Karen. “He won Rolex; he won
a lot of competitions. In the end,
he was able to choose his time, and
isn’t it interesting that he chose the
Sunday morning of Rolex?”
Star Power
Ian Millar’s 2012 Olympic show
jumping mount Star Power was
euthanized on April 15 following
a devastating soft tissue injury in
turnout. He was 15.
Emile and Paul Hendrix of Stal
Hendrix in the Netherlands found
the Dutch Warmblood gelding
(Quick Star—Maxim, Calvados)
in 2009 in Italy, where Paolo
Mencolini was competing him in
grand prix classes. Team Works
syndicate purchased the horse for
Millar with the London Olympic
Games in mind.
Star Power originally competed
as Uranus, but Millar changed the
gelding’s name due to his diva-like
mentality.
During their first year together,
Millar focused on building a part-
nership with “Star” and worked on
the gelding’s rideability. He became
a serious competitor, producing
consistent results over the seven
years he was part of Team Millar.
Some of Star’s highlights included
taking home five grand prix
victories in 2011 and representing
Canada in the Pan American
Games in Mexico that year.
Millar and Star finished ninth
individually at the London
Olympic Games, the highest-placed
Canadian combination. With Star,
Millar became the first athlete in
any sport to contest 10 Olympic
Games. He also placed second
in the $500,000 FTI Consulting
Finale Grand Prix at the Winter
Equestrian Festival (Fla.) that year.
Star Power racked up numerous
top grand prix placings and Nations
Cup appearances for Millar. He
called him “a freak of nature,” and
said the horse had unbelievable
athletic ability and really wanted to
leave the jumps up.
In 2015, Millar’s son Jonathon
took over the ride. Their last
competition together was the
Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup in
Ocala, Fla., this past February.
Star’s slow recovery from the event
prompted Team Millar’s decision to
stop competing the gelding. They
kept him in light work for the rest
of the Florida season, and then in
April he returned to Millar Brooke
Farm in Perth, Ontario, Canada, to
retire.
In an email, a representative
from Team Millar said Star was
“powerful, careful and an incred-
ible talent. Star’s unique ability and
character are greatly missed in the
barn and in the show ring.”
The Millars also thanked Star’s
owners and his caregivers, Danny
Ingratta and Sandi Patterson.
Ingratta posted a tribute to the
gelding over social media: “He was
loved by many and will always
have a special place in my heart. I
was fortunate enough to take care
of him almost every day for three
years. He was the first horse I took
care of representing the Canadian
Team at Nations Cup events and
was the first horse that took me
on numerous unforgettable adven-
tures throughout North America.
He always kept me on my toes, as
he was constantly trying to squish
them. He loved his bananas and
pizza buns and would go nuts
for honeydew melon. I will never
forget his different ‘voices’ nor his
incredible personality and talent.
‘Pookie’ you were the best, with the
biggest heart in the world. You did
anything and everything that was
ever asked of you. You will be truly
missed.”